Greetings
I know from reading many posts that some of you have swam in college. I am the parent of an age group swimmer who has his sights set on a college scholarship. I was a sportsmed guy in a a Div 1 school in college and all of us worked many long hours and traveled a great deal to earn our way through. The athletes worked very hard of course and really paid in time for the funds they received in the form of books and tuition. I would rather pay for his schooling and see him study rather than swim. I do not want to steal his dreams though as a result of my cynical view of the system. Have any of you swam in college and what was your experience? Do you view it as a worthy goal or would you have done it differently? Any coaches out there with insight? All advice welcome. This is a great forum!
Many Thanks
Spudfin
Parents
Former Member
I've always said what you get out of your college experience is what you put into it.
I swam D1 on a scholarship for about a year and a half. I trained with people on olympic and national teams, met LOTS of people, traveled around the country and had a great time. However, I had severe knee problems so I had to "retire" right before our winter training trip my soph. year. I stayed active with the team and lived with swimmers and divers all 4 years I was there. Even when I retired, I was still in the top school in the state and in the top 10 in the country for my major.
I had a wonderful experience. Being on a team gives you an automatic pool of friends which is nice (no pun intended), especially in a big school. It makes it feel that much smaller. You also will usually have people that share your major to help you out, or at least someone in a similar major.
If I had a chance to do it over (and I had great knees) I would have done it all 4 years. I don't think twice about it.
If you child wants to swim, don't deter them. Just make sure they are picking the school for the ACADEMICS, not athletics. If they both happen to be good, then all the better. They have to look in the long run - what is going to sustain them through adulthood? I seriously doubt they will make a living with their swimming career. If they do it for a year or two and retire, so what? They still had a great experience and learned a lot. Plus, it saved you some money. No complaints there.
I've always said what you get out of your college experience is what you put into it.
I swam D1 on a scholarship for about a year and a half. I trained with people on olympic and national teams, met LOTS of people, traveled around the country and had a great time. However, I had severe knee problems so I had to "retire" right before our winter training trip my soph. year. I stayed active with the team and lived with swimmers and divers all 4 years I was there. Even when I retired, I was still in the top school in the state and in the top 10 in the country for my major.
I had a wonderful experience. Being on a team gives you an automatic pool of friends which is nice (no pun intended), especially in a big school. It makes it feel that much smaller. You also will usually have people that share your major to help you out, or at least someone in a similar major.
If I had a chance to do it over (and I had great knees) I would have done it all 4 years. I don't think twice about it.
If you child wants to swim, don't deter them. Just make sure they are picking the school for the ACADEMICS, not athletics. If they both happen to be good, then all the better. They have to look in the long run - what is going to sustain them through adulthood? I seriously doubt they will make a living with their swimming career. If they do it for a year or two and retire, so what? They still had a great experience and learned a lot. Plus, it saved you some money. No complaints there.
